Opening the door
by Vickysg1
Summary: Jack was in the neighbourhood
1. Area 51

Opening the door

Author: Vicky

E-Mail: vickysg1wanadoo.fr

WebSite: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/vickyfics/index.html

Category: romance

Summary: Jack was in the neighbourhood (two parts, 1st part he said she still need some time and leave and that she just have to give him a sign, 2nd part she comes to Washington and open the door to his office, saying 'is that enough of a sign')

Season: season 9, just after Origin (9-03) for part 1, and just after Ex Deus Machina (9-07) for part 2

Spoiler: anything up to Ex Deus Machina (9-07)

Rating: G

Archives: my website, others ask please, I never refuse

Disclaimer: I own neither the show nor the characters. I don't earn any money; I just do it for fun.

Author's Note: This fic was written for Megan (returnofpiper) for the Sam/Jack ficathon. She wanted "The first time Jack and Sam see each other after he moves to DC (location up to the author). Awkwardness leading to not." Actually, this idea for a fic was sitting on my HD for a while and Megan had a request that was quite the same so here it is. This fic is in two parts because I've skipped a few weeks between the two parts

Jack stepped down from the plane and immediately noticed the car waiting for him. He sighed, getting into the back seat; if there was one thing he really hated in his new job, besides having to deal with politicians, it was not being able to drive himself. Now, wherever he had to go for his job, he had a driver. He missed being able to drive his truck; the only time he could do it was when he could sneak a few days off work to go to his cabin.

The car stopped, and he thought for the nth time that he really could have walked from the plane to the building, and he got out by himself, surprising the driver who had come around the car to open the door for him. He entered the building and was immediately noticed by the young sergeant at the desk.

"Sir, what can I do for you, Sir?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could…"

"General O'Neill," he was interrupted before he could finish.

Turning around, he saw the newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel Davis walk towards him.

"We weren't expecting you, Sir," he said as they shook hands.

"I know. I was in the neighbourhood and thought I'd stop by. So, how are things going?"

"Fine, Sir. The guys at R&D are happy to have Colonel Carter there, though I might say I was surprised that she asked to come here. I thought she would never leave the SGC."

"She needed the change after her father's death, and it was just at the same time that Cassy, Fraiser's adopted daughter," he clarified though he knew that Davis would know her, "needed her too."

"Do you think it's a permanent change?"

"I don't know. I know that the new leader of SG1, Mitchell, would like her to come back. You should ask her that, actually."

"I'll do that. So, want me to give you the tour?"

"Well, since I'm here…," Jack shrugged.

"This way, then," Davis gestured towards the elevators.

Halfway through the tour though, he had to leave Jack after an airman came to tell him that one of the scientists wanted to see him in his office. Jack assured him that he could continue the tour alone, sure that he couldn't get lost there after having spent more than eight years at the SGC.

An hour later, he realised that he was wrong when he came across the same corner for the third time. He asked his way to a scientist who was about to open a door, and was glad to find out that he wasn't far away from his destination; he wasn't that lost after all.

The door was opened and he could see only one person inside. He smiled as she didn't acknowledge him immediately, apparently too engrossed in one experiment or another. He took some time to observe her; she had her back to him and he could feel the tension radiating from her. Not that he was surprised about that; she would always be the same, no matter where she was. He noticed that the muscles on her back were tensed, and he wondered when was the last time she took a few days off to just relax.

"How long are you going to stay on the threshold, Sir?" she asked, surprising him.

"How did you know?" he asked her in answer, finally entering the lab.

"The closet door reflects the door."

"Oh… So, err… How are you?"

"Fine, sir. And you?"

"I'm pretty good," he answered, a small smile on his lips that she returned.

They both could feel it; it wasn't the same as a few weeks back. It was like they were back to the awkwardness of the first days they worked together. But even then, it wasn't that bad. They didn't have to wonder much about what had changed, they just knew.

Nothing was really standing between them now; sure as the head of Homeworld Security he was still her CO, but it wasn't the same as before. Now, they wouldn't fight together anymore, see each other everyday anymore.

"What are you doing here…, sir," she added at the last moment. She winced, realising how it sounded. "Not that you can't be here, sir, it's just… I thought you'd be in Washington."

"Well, I was just at the SGC and since I was in the neighbourhood, I thought I could come and say hi. So, hi."

"Hi, sir," she replied with a smile. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Carter. So, when are you going back to the SGC?"

"I'm not sure I want to go back, sir," she admitted, knowing that he wouldn't judge her. "I mean, Cassy needs me, and having a job here is so much easier than back at the SGC."

"I know. I won't order you back, but they need you there," he told her and she just nodded in answer. "So… It's nearly dinner time, so stop whatever you were working on, and come on, I'm hungry. And no, 'I have to finish this first'," he added as he saw her ready to speak.

"Actually, I was going to say that we could go. Just give me a few minutes to go change and I'll be all yours."

As soon as she said the words, she blushed slightly and lowered her eyes. She expected a reply of some sort from Jack, but when she looked back up at him, she noticed his gaze had softened and his face sported a small smile.

They left the labs and she excused herself to go change. He went to wait for her by the entrance, hoping he wouldn't get lost this time.

"General," Colonel Davis called as Jack walked into the lobby. "I'm sorry for having left you earlier, but you know how scientists are. Would you like to join me for dinner, Sir?"

"Sorry, I already have other projects," Jack answered as he saw his 'other projects' walking towards him.

His jaw went somewhere near the floor as he noticed what she was wearing. Davis followed his gaze and his own jaw joined Jack's.

Sam couldn't help but smile at the look they were giving her; it was like they had forgotten she was a woman. She wasn't wearing something too fancy. Just a dress she had happened to have in her locker. Not that she was expecting this kind of occasion to present itself, but she was always told to be prepared for anything at anytime.

Jack picked up his jaw and let his gaze wander down her body. The knee-length black dress was revealing her cleavage, but not too much. He gulped; he had never seen her in that kind of attire before. His eyes locked on hers and he could see that she was glad to have that effect on him.

"Shall we…?" she gestured for the door and he nodded, before whispering something she didn't hear to Davis who immediately straightened and looked away.

"After you," he said, and she smiled; just what she was expecting.

She walked past him through the already opened door and heard him gasp; he obviously hadn't noticed that the back of her dress was low-cut before. She let out a soft laugh before turning towards him. She gave him a knowing smile, and headed towards her car.

"Wait," Jack called after her. "We should take mine. We'll come back here after dinner so you can get your car back. My driver will follow us, anyway," he explained as he saw her look.

"Ok, then," Sam agreed.

She took the arm he offered her and they walked towards the black car which was already waiting for them, the door opened. They slid in the backseat and the driver closed the door behind them. Jack let Sam give him directions to a restaurant she had heard of in town and they set off.

They stayed silent, neither knowing what to say. But it wasn't a comfortable silence like they were used to; no, they were feeling ill-at-ease, wondering if they should be here with the other. They were both somehow afraid to have nothing to talk about during the dinner.

As it turned out, it was quite the contrary. They spent two full hours at the restaurant, eating, laughing and talking about everything. Everything but one subject they'd carefully avoided the whole evening.

"Don't you miss working at the SGC?" he asked her at one point and she took a few seconds before answering.

"I do. But like I told you earlier, I'm not ready to go back. I think here's where I should be."

"For now?"

"For now," she nodded, with a smile. "And what about you? Do you miss the SGC?"

"Yes. But I think I've made the right choice. At least, I hope so," he said, looking straight into her eyes.

She blushed slightly, wondering if she had understood him right. But she wouldn't risk asking him.

It kept nagging her on the trip back to her car, but she managed to make light conversation with him, laughing or smiling when she should do. But it wouldn't leave her; it kept coming back to the front of her mind. She tried to reason herself, but she knew there was probably only one way to find out.

Jack noticed that something was bothering Sam, but he didn't know what, or rather he didn't _want_ to know what. He knew it had started back at the restaurant, when he risked an insinuation. He shouldn't have said that, it wasn't the time for that, but he couldn't help himself. But now, he knew he had been wrong.

When the car finally stopped by Sam's, he stepped out after her despite her protests that she'd be fine. She opened the door and turned back towards him, a smile on her lips. He was much closer than she had expected, but she didn't let that deflate her.

"Thanks for the evening, sir. With Cassy out of town for the week, it was good to not be home alone."

"Anytime, Carter. If you happen to come to Washington one of these days, you know where to find me."

"Yes, Sir."

"Well, goodnight," Jack said in a soft voice.

"Goodnight," she replied, before closing the distance between them and taking his lips with hers, for a sweet kiss. She was a bit surprised at herself; she hadn't thought that she could have brought herself to do that, to kiss him where anybody working at Area 51 could see them, despite the late hour.

"No. We can't, we can't," he whispered against her lips.

"I thought you wanted it," Sam said, taking a step back from him and lowering her head. She didn't want him to see her disappointed face; it looked like she hadn't understood him right in the end. But before she could enter her car and drive away from there, from him, he took a hold onto her wrist, and putting two fingers under her chin, he urged her to look at him.

"I want that. God, Carter, Sam," he corrected himself, "I do want that, don't ever doubt that."

"But why…," she asked, confused.

"I think it's too soon," he admitted. "I know it's too soon actually. You're still settling into your new life, and you've just lost your father and cancelled your wedding…"

"It happened over three months ago…" she interrupted with a sigh. "I still mourn for my Dad, and I probably always will, but don't bring Pete in this, please, there really are no reasons to."

"Sorry. But I'll stand by what I said. It's still too soon, and I don't want to mess it up. We should wait. I… I don't want people thinking that we've been together all along"

"And that I don't deserve the promotions I got?" she continued for him, having understood his way of thinking.

"Exactly."

"Until when?" she asked, a bit of annoyance in her voice.

"Until it's time for us. Do you understand why I'm doing this? I'm not pushing you away, Sam, I just feel that if we start something now, we might mess it up."

"I know. I understand, and I may even go as far as saying that I think you're right. I want this to work too."

"So, we wait?"

"We wait," she agreed, smiling at him.

"I'm sure there'll be a sign when the time comes."

"Then, we should watch for it. We don't want to miss it, right, Sir?"

Her look had turned mischievous and Jack knew that he should leave now, otherwise he wouldn't want to in a few minutes. But he decided to give into the temptation one last time. He leant his head towards Sam's, and captured her lips with his own. The kiss quickly heated and they were both breathless when they broke it. He rested his forehead against hers for a few seconds, trying to catch his breath.

"Until then," he whispered to her before walking away.

She watched his car drive away before entering her own. On its own volition, her hand flew to her lips that were stretched into a smile.

She hadn't expected the night to turn out the way it had, but she was far from complaining. Now, she just had to wait for the right moment for them to get together. She didn't know when that would be, but she sure hoped it would be soon enough. She was tired of waiting.

End of part 1


	2. Washington DC

Jack was sitting in his office, bored out of his mind. At least, when he was at the SGC, he could still wander down the corridor, or just stand by the window in the briefing room, watching the Gate. But since, he was there, he couldn't do that anymore.

His secretary, a young captain, would never leave him alone whenever he stepped foot outside his office. She always wanted to know where he was going, tell him that he had an appointment and that he just couldn't leave now. And she wasn't even making things easy for him like Walter did.

Oh yeah, he really missed the SGC.

Sighing, he got up from his seat, the file he was reading forgotten on the desk, and looked out of the window. The sky was grey on DC, and he wouldn't be surprised if it started to rain soon. He wondered what the weather was in Colorado Springs, wondered how his friends were doing after that stunt Ba'al had pulled on them. Like them, he knew that he wasn't dead, that he was still out there, maybe still there on Earth, who knew, and that he would come back sooner rather than later.

He wished he was there with them. With his position as the Head of Homeworld Security, came the fact that he was now too far from the action for his liking. When he was at the head of the SGC, he was still close enough and had been able to join in the fights from time to time when it was needed. Now, he couldn't anymore; he could just wait for phone calls and reports on how the missions went. When something important happened, he always knew afterwards, he couldn't help as much as he wanted to.

He knew that nothing was preventing him from jumping into a plane for the SGC, or he could just ask to be teleported there by the Prometheus. Nothing but meetings with the joint chiefs, other generals, and whoever wanted to talk to him at the time. Maybe he should have stayed in Colorado after all, he was better off there. But when the President asked himself if you could take over the Head of Homeworld Security position, there was just no way to say no.

A commotion coming from outside his office jolted him from his thoughts. He couldn't hear what was said, but by the tone of her voice, he knew that his secretary was getting quickly annoyed by whoever was there. He smiled to himself; it wasn't often that she lost her calm and he wondered who the person might be.

He didn't have to wonder anymore when the door opened, without a knock. He could still hear the protests coming from the captain, trying to stop his visitor, but it was too late. He was ready to shoo whoever it was out, even if it was someone that could have him court marshalled on the spot, when his eyes met those of his impromptu visitor.

"It's ok, Miller," he told the captain, who was at the door, ready to apologize. "I should probably give you a list of people who can come unannounced. Remind me to do that one of these days."

"Yes, Sir," she answered, a bit confused. With one look towards the other two people, she left the office and closed the door behind her.

"So…"

"So…"

"How's the SGC?" he asked, although he already knew.

"We're all pretty disturbed by the fact that Ba'al was on Earth without us knowing… Well, Ba'al and his clones," she added as an afterthought. "I'm staying. Cameron asked, and I said yes."

"I knew you would. So, err… What are you doing here? Not that you shouldn't be here, but… you know," he stopped there, knowing that if he continued, he could do nothing but ramble.

"General Landry has given me a few days to tie some loose ends. So I came…"

"Oh… ok…"

"Wasn't that enough of a sign?" she asked and she immediately noticed he hadn't understood what she meant.

"What?" came the expected reply from Jack.

"Me… opening the door…"

"Oh…"

He had finally understood what she was saying.

The 'opening the door' thing was a metaphor for them; five years ago, they had closed the door on their shared feelings, knowing that it wasn't time for them yet. But now it was. He couldn't help but keep wondering if she didn't deserve more, but she seemed to have chosen him, so maybe he should stop doubting. At least for now; one day soon, he was going to ask her, to tell her exactly what was on his mind.

"Carter… Sam," he corrected himself; he should start getting used to it. "Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't be here otherwise…," she just replied. "This time, I really think we've waited long enough."

"It won't be easy…"

"I've tried easy and I got tired," she interrupted him.

"Hear me out. With both our works, we won't be able to see each other that often. And I've heard that most of the long distance relationships are doomed to fail."

"Ours won't," she tried to reassure him. "Jack… Do you want to back out? Because if you do, it's ok, I understand," she said, though he could see in her eyes that it wasn't.

"I don't, I don't. Like I told you, I want to make it work. And we will make it work," he continued, "whatever it'll take, we will."

"We will," she repeated after him with a smile. "So… Do I get a kiss?" she asked, and he couldn't help but laugh at how sheepish she sounded.

"Well…," he pondered for a second before capturing her lips in an open-mouthed kiss.

They had kissed before, but their kisses had never conveyed what this one was conveying: love and promises. They only parted because of a dear need of oxygen, both sporting huge smiles on their faces.

"What do you think of going to my cabin next time we both have a few days off?" he asked and she recognized another of their own metaphors there.

"I'd love too. But it'll probably be a few months until I'll be able to take some holidays with the Ori and all."

"I know. I probably won't have any time off soon either, anyway."

Not wanting to talk anymore, at least for now, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him again. Only to be interrupted a few seconds later by the phone.

His head resting on the crook of Sam's neck, Jack groaned; he should have told his secretary that he didn't want to be disturbed.

"You should probably get that, it might be important."

He knew that she was right but that didn't mean that he didn't want to stay right where he was, with their arms around each other. So, instead of releasing her to go answer the phone, he just backed towards his desk and picked up the phone with one hand while the other stayed on Sam's back, his fingers tracing strange patterns.

"O'Neill… Mr President, Sir, what can I do for you?" he asked as he unconsciously straightened and let go of Sam, though it wasn't like he could be seen. "Tomorrow, 0900 is perfect, Mr President. See you tomorrow, Sir," he added before hanging up. Looking up towards Sam, he noticed that she was giggling slightly. "What?"

"You don't want to know," she just said, and he guessed that he probably didn't. "So, what did the President want? If it's ok to tell me, of course."

"He wanted me to brief him about Ba'al and his clones. Actually, if you could come too…"

"I can't. I have a flight booked at 0800 for Nevada. I still have a few things to pick up there," she explained and Jack nodded his understanding.

"Well, then, what should we do until then?" he asked, already having an idea or two.

Sam already had a few ideas too, but that would have to wait until they had left his office. Anyone could interrupt them at any time, and she definitely didn't want to be interrupted for what she had in mind.

Holding her in his arms, Jack thought about that night where he had wanted them to wait. Though, he would have waited as long as she needed, he was glad that she had finally come.

They had opened the metaphoric door, and could now hope that everything would turn out right for them in the end. Things would never be easy between them, but it wasn't what they wanted or needed anyway. No, they would just live and love each other the best they could. And no matter what others could say, they had waited long enough for that to mind them.

Fini.


End file.
